Case Study

Jalur Cahaya Sdn Bhd (JCSB) is a full-service environmental engineering company that helps Malaysian water utilities reduce non-revenue water (NRW).

NRW is the difference between the volume of water supplied to the system and the volume of water billed to the customers. Simply put, it is water loss for which the utility receives zero revenue. NRW is an important issue facing water utilities, as it has an estimated value of more than $18B per year worldwide.

JCSB was using acoustic-based leak detection systems to locate leaks on water mains for a utility in central Malaysia. The systems were unable to locate leaks due to low water pressure levels and because the mains were comprised of plastic and other non-ferrous materials.

Traditionally, acoustically detecting leaks on non-ferrous mains is painstakingly difficult, especially if the mains have low pressure. Leaks in such environments often have relatively low noise frequencies that are almost impossible to detect with typical leak noise correlators.